The Campaign For DA

1.20.2006

From the Morning News:
A former Dallas police officer who was fired after being accused of groping a female motorist during a traffic stop was found not guilty of the charge on Thursday. The motorist, an employee at a Dallas topless club, charged that 5-year department veteran Jermaine Thompson threatened to take her to jail unless she showed him her breasts during a Sept. 2004 traffic stop in far northeast Dallas. The woman told police that Mr. Thompson touched her breasts after she lifted her shirt. Investigators verified that the officer's car was where the woman said it was by reviewing the car's electronic tracking system data. The woman also said Mr. Thompson later showed up at the club where she worked, tried to get in free and groped her again. Mr. Thompson was charged with improper sexual activity with a person in custody and faced up to two years in a state jail. He waived his right to a jury trial and was found not guilty by District Judge Keith Dean. Mr. Thompson's attorney, Tom Pappas, argued that the woman's trial testimony differed from statements she originally made to investigators and that details of the police investigation did not corroborate her account.
Interesting tidbit: A defendant can waive a jury and have the judge decide the case IF the prosecution agrees to the waiver.